SINGAPORE: The temperature on Friday (Jan 10) dropped to 22 deg C after hours of relentless rain bore down on the island since morning.
According to the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS), the lowest temperature of the day up to 9.16pm was 22 deg C recorded in Admiralty.
This is slightly above 2024’s lowest temperature of 21.4 deg C, which was recorded in Paya Lebar on July 12.
National water agency PUB warned on Jan 9 that extreme downpours might overwhelm Singapore’s canals and drains temporarily between Jan 10 and 13, when a monsoon surge was expected to hit the city. This may trigger sudden and localised floods.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Jan 9 that the monsoon surge – a sudden increase in wind speeds that causes cold air to rush southwards in the South China Sea – could cause temperatures to dip to 22 deg C in some places.
According to NEA, the lowest recorded temperature in Singapore was 19.4 deg C in 1934 and 1989.
The wet weather on Jan 10 led to PUB issuing flash flood alerts in areas such as Tanjong Katong and Jalan Pokok Serunai.
At Jalan Seaview near East Coast beach, waters swelled up to around 50cm high, submerging a 60m-long stretch of the street.
A resident who wanted to be known only as Ong said: “As far as I’m concerned, this is probably the worst (flooding) in the last few years.”
[Additional reporting by Kevin Lim]